Emergency workers have been scouring an area of 30 hectares around the crash site, a snow-covered field in the Moscow region, day and night for the recovery operation and investigation, according to the ministry.

"The work is being conducted around the clock, in three shifts," it said, adding that about a thousand people have been working at the site.

Authorities suspect that the crash was caused by human error, a technical malfunction or complications due to bad weather. Over the past week, Moscow has been hit by the heaviest snowfall in a century.

The regional jet, a Russian-assembled An-148, was eight years old. The Ukrainian and Russian manufacturers of that type of aircraft pledged to assist in the investigation.

The ministry said that the families of the victims will receive at least the equivalent of about 50,000 dollars each.

The airline's insurance will provide 2 million roubles (35 000 dollars), and the Moscow region's government 1 million, the ministry said in a statement.